An Alternate Solution
by dianesmalone
Summary: Diane leaves Boston when she's given the opportunity of a lifetime to achieve her dream of being a published author. After being there for a day, she finds herself lonely and calls the one person she trusts more than anything, Sam. They come together and discuss the future of their relationship.


Before we get started let's set the stage: Diane Chambers and Sam Malone were engaged to be married. Diane gets an opportunity of a lifetime to have her book published but that means moving to California. She battles with the decision but ultimately decides to stay. She's in love with Sam and wants to marry him more than anything. Ultimately, Sam pushes her to go and achieve her dreams. And she goes, with a promise that she'll be back in six months.

Note: so I'm not the most skilled fan fiction writer in the world. In this Sam and Diane may seem *slightly* different than from the show but I assure you I did my best to write them well. I also wrote from how I see them. In this case, Sam is showing a more vulnerable side of him that we didn't see a whole lot on the show.

She awakens to the sound of an alarm clock but instead of groaning like most people, Diane springs out of bed with a hum. Of course she wasn't as energetic on the inside and she was acting to be. She was still hurting from the previous night, leaving the man she loved for nearly five years was not easy on her but she knew she'd be okay, she had to be. Diane smiles to herself to just try to boost her spirits and begins to get dressed. After all, she was out here to achieve her dreams with the encouragement of Sam. She wasn't about to let him down. Diane slips into her purple, white, with a splash of grey sweater along with a white pencil skirt and black pointed heels. She looks at herself in the mirror and adjusts the skirt before letting out a short and soft breath with another smile. "There, perfect if I do say so myself" she says gently in her slight tired and groggy voice.

Diane was only staying in a hotel for the moment. She had just arrived and hadn't had time to look at the glorious homes that Southern California had to offer just yet. That was perfectly fine, Diane actually didn't mind the hotel she was staying in. Surprisingly enough, her time as a barmaid, though not the highest paying job, managed to give her enough money to get a fairly nice hotel room. Now dressed and ready for her day, Diane decides instead of room service she'd find herself a quiet little coffee shop to write in while she ate. She hums in delight at the idea and decides to head on out, grabbing her light pink purse on her way, along with her favorite notebook and pens for writing. Diane had a special large notebook in which she did all of her writing. Her pens were special too, they weren't regular pens; they wrote with such eloquence that other pens could never match. The very thought of using them made her feel giddy.

Hours later, nearly eight, Diane arrives back at her hotel room and gets herself out of the clothes she was wearing. She settles on her favorite lacy lavender nightgown and slides back into the now neatly made bed. Instead of turning on the television or reading, Diane decides to look up at the ceiling and actually let her thoughts roam for once. She was so used to closing out her feelings and not letting them out for a long time. Maybe this move to California could be a change to that. As she stares at the ceiling, Diane thinks about the previous night. There she had been at the altar with Sam Malone. Sam. Gosh how much she missed him already in the twenty four hours she had been gone. He truly meant everything to her even if there were times when she wouldn't admit it. It was strange how the two of them worked. Seemingly having nothing in common yet everything all at once. Sure, he wasn't a fan of the arts like she was. Her passion for it was so strong and she knew in some way as much as he was annoyed by it, he admired it as well. And Diane, well she loathed sports but watching his face light up every time his favorite team of whatever sport won that night was all that matter to her. She loved seeing him happy, it made her the happier than anything.

And while they got so annoyed with one another and fought passionately with one another, at the end of the day they were so madly in love that it didn't matter. It didn't matter how mad they'd get at one another, they'd find a way to talk it out and come back to each other. Diane noticed that each fight they had, it only brought them closer and made their love for one another deeper. Of course she knew they still annoyed each other but that was just part of it, part of why she loved being in love with him. Sam Malone. Good lord he meant the entire world to her. Not a second later she springs up in the bed and turns to the bedside table next to her. There sat a phone and immediately Diane grabbed it, pulling it toward her. She was so anxious that she nearly ripped it out of the wall, but thankfully she didn't. Diane speedily dialed Sam's number. She knew it by heart. He was the person she would call at three in the morning when she had a bad dream or couldn't go to sleep. And while it annoyed him each time she called because it woke him from his slumber, he still sat there with her on the phone for however long she needed. He listened to her ramble about the most mindless things and helped her get back to sleep. She loved him for that. Diane's heart pounds in her ears as she puts the phone to her ear, she didn't know what she was going to say. She just wanted to hear his voice again, twenty four hours or not she missed his voice already.

She takes in a deep breath and not a moment later, he picks up. "Hello?" He questions. She doesn't answer at first, unable to get anything out at the sound of his voice. For some reason she wasn't expecting him to pick up, but why wouldn't he? "Sam.. it's me" Diane finally manages to spit out. She closes her eyes as she waits for him to say something. Her stomach was now twisting and turning in knots. What if he didn't want to talk to her? She had left him at the altar after all and she knew all too well from Frasier Crane that leaving a man at the altar is something that'll never be forgiven.

"Sweetheart.." his voice trails off. Diane wasn't sure if that was meant to be taken as Sam didn't want to hear from her or not. She didn't care though she needed to say what she was feeling before she overanalyzed the situation and talked herself out of this. "Sam, I know I'm the last person in the entire world you want to hear from right now. I know you won't admit it but I know you're heartbroken. And I.. well I am too. And I need to see you, I want to talk to you about us because I don't want this to be the end. It can't be" she manages to blurt out all at once before her brain can stop her. The line on the other end is quite for a minute before Sam responds. "I'll be there in the morning. Get some sleep sweetheart." Before he hangs up, she makes sure to tell him what hotel she was staying at and what hotel room she was in. With that, he hangs up. Diane let's out a sigh of relief, she was glad that he actually was flying here to see her and that he didn't hang up the second he heard her voice. She then hangs up the phone and sets it back on the bedside table by the lamp. Laying back down, Diane let's herself think again. What would tomorrow bring? What would he say? Was he going to be mad at her? Was he going to say he never wanted to see her again? She didn't know. After about ten more minutes of question upon question, Diane manages to wear herself out and right to sleep.

The morning comes around quicker than expected and Diane wakes up extra early this time in both excitement and nervousness in regard to seeing Sam. She decides to dress up in something she knew he liked. Of course she didn't want to go over the top since she wasn't trying to seduce him. Diane just wanted to discuss their relationship and other details. Nevertheless, she knew what Sam liked to see her in and she loved to please him. Diane decides on a red dress that had long sleeves, it was soft but not too heavy and it accentuated the subtle curves she did have. She wasn't a curvy woman whatsoever and she knew that but the dress did highlight her features a bit more and that was all that mattered to her.

The dress wasn't very revealing, it went past her knees and while it was v-neck it wasn't a very revealing one. Still, the dress made her feel beautiful and like she could conquer the world. It was a plus that Sam loved it too. Diane slides on the black heels she had worn the previous day and smiles at herself in the mirror. Though nervous and unsure of what her time with Sam would bring, she was excited to see him. She knew that any minute a knock would come at her door so she made sure the room was as tidy as could be. Though, since Diane Chambers was staying here the room was already spotless. Only minutes after she's finished completely tidying up, a knock comes at the hotel rooms door and Diane's stomach twists in knots. She then takes in a deep breath and lets it out before grabbing the door handle and opening it.

There he stood on the other side. Sam Malone in the flesh. He was wearing a black button up that was tucked into his blue jeans. He was also wearing the shoes she despised but she was overlooking that in the moment. The second she sees him on the other side of the door, she lets go of the door handle and embraces him in a hug. It was quite spur of the moment of her, letting her emotions overcome her once more but she couldn't help herself. It was quite different how much she missed Sam in the past 30 hours. There wasn't a single man in world that had ever made her feel like alone miss this much. She could tell that at first he was shocked as he hesitated to put her arms around her but when he did she could feel her heart melting. Diane knew that she was at home. No, she wasn't in Boston, and no it wasn't her home because she was living in California now. No her home was right here. With Sam, preferably in his arms. How strange it was to find her home in another person's arms and yet how absolutely right it felt. A minute or so had passed before she pulled away. Diane clears her throat remembering the circumstances, "Sorry.. please come in" she says moving out of his way so he can take a seat on the only place he could, her bed.

Diane sits after he does and sits across from him. There's silence for minute, neither one of them knowing how to start. Sam breaks the silence with, "You mentioned wanting to talk about us?" he questions a bit quietly. He was sitting toward the wall and she was sitting toward the edge of the bed. They were facing one another and looking down until he spoke. Diane scoots herself closer to him and reaches for his hands, taking his much larger ones into her small ones. "Like I said on the phone.. I know I'm probably the last person you want to hear from. Well I guess that's not true if you flew all the way from Boston here to just see me maybe you do want to hear from me-" Diane is suddenly cut off by the sound of his voice "Sweetheart" he replies to get her to stop rambling. Diane collects herself and nods, "right my point." She takes a deep breath before continuing on, "the reason I called you... why I said that I wanted to talk about us is because I miss you so much. And that might sound silly because we've been apart for long than this, and it's only been thirty hours but believe me when I say I've missed you terribly. I just want you to know that-" he breaks her rambling once more but instead of with his words, he uses his lips.

Shocked at first, Diane doesn't kiss Sam back but it only takes her a second to melt against him. The kiss is slow and tender, only lasting mere seconds before she decides to break the kiss. Diane was smiling, she couldn't help herself. He made her about as giddy as a school girl and just a kiss from him made her feel better. "You never let me finish do you?" She asks in a lighter voice. Diane was less nervous about this now. She knew that if Sam was kissing her like this then perhaps they still had a future together. "Well most of the time I do... but I could tell you were nervously rambling and we both know when you do that, it might never stop" he teases and gives her a warm smile in return. Diane laughs a little and pushes his chest. "Okay mister now to get to the point here.. I know that I've hurt you and believe me.. I hate knowing I did. However, I've come to realize after a lot of thinking that I don't want this to be over and I know you don't either" Diane finally points out.

A sigh comes from Sam, "what do you suggest we do then? I mean we both know that we have lives we don't want to give up. I mean you're all the way out here in California.. and I can't leave Cheers. It means too much to me to give up" he replies. Diane nods, she knew how much Cheers meant to him. The bar meant so much to her as well. It was a place she never expected to love so much and yet she did. It was where she met Sam, Clifford, Frasier, Lilith, Carla, Norman, Coach, Woody. All very lovely people whom she adored even if they didn't always get along. "Well then we don't have to live in the same place. Just think about it.. I'll be here, you'll be in Boston. We can call each other every day. Maybe more than twice if we really miss each other that day. And we can write each other letters.. I mean you can add to the collection of my love letters" Diane remarks with a smile. She always teased him about that since she found out but if Diane was honest, she adored that he kept her love letters. It was probably one of the sweetest things anyone had ever done for her. Sam chuckles a little, his cheeks growing red from the slight embarrassment he felt. His expression grows serious again, "are you sure that this is what you want? It's not going to be easy" he points out. She sighs, why did they have to think about this? She wanted to ignore her over analyzing brain for once but then again she knew this was a big decision to make. "Are you sure that this is what you want?" Diane counters. Part of her really wanted to know if this was something Sam really wanted and this wasn't just a hopeless dream of hers. She watches as he ponders the thought for a minute, her stomach growing in knots once more.

There was this fear of him rejecting her and having to carry on life without him. Sam finally breaks his silence with his words, "I can't believe I'm saying this but yeah.. it is what I want." Diane looks at him in near shock for second, had he really said that this was what he wanted? It brought her shock since she figured she broke his heart by leaving him to pursue her dreams. Not only that but Sam was quite the bachelor, she was pretty sure that there wasn't a woman in Boston that he hasn't slept with. And he was willing to give up that bachelor life he loved to boast about for a long distance relationship with her? Diane chuckles and smiles finally, "it's what I want too Sam.. more than anything." She hopes to still come back to him after six months as she had promised. She wanted to be a successful author. Hopefully best selling but that was dreaming big. Diane wanted to be a published author more than best selling. Though it would be nice to be both. Sam then looks away for a second and hums, "Well on second thought do I really want to give up the life of a bachelor?" Of course he was merely teasing with her and she was well aware of it.

After years of being by his side she became quite the professional at detecting when he was messing with her. "Oh you know Sam you're right... how could you give up your goal of sleeping with every woman in Massachusetts?" Diane counters playfully. That grabs his attention right away, "heey!" He laughs and shakes his head. Diane can't help but smile, feeling her heart grow warmer with every second they spent talking. "Okay but in all seriousness Sam" she says, her look becoming more stern, "you know you can always call me when you might get urges and depending on where I am... I may be able to help you with said urges" she finishes with a tone of voice that was a bit higher. That causes Sam to raise a brow and slightly chuckle, "oh really you would?" He questions to which Diane nods, replying that she'd be happy to. That makes him smirk and move closer to her now, they were just inches away. "And so if I were to be having those urges say... now, would you be able to help me?" He asks innocently as he wasn't referring to going to bed together. Sam's words make her smirk now and she nods, "oh I think I can help you with that, no problem." Diane then presses her hand to his chest and pushes him back onto the bed, crashing her lips down onto his.

It was hours later before the two of them settled down in bed again. They had spent those hours making continuous love. This time instead of sitting across from one another they were in each other's arms. Both of them were laying on their right side, Sam behind Diane. Their bodies were pressed up against one another, their legs intertwined. Sam's right arm was around her torso, just below her breasts. Her right arm was over his and their fingers were laced. Both still awake but neither of them speaking, they were simply enjoying the company of one another. Diane was smiling wide, she hadn't felt this happy in a long time. Sam was smiling as well and his other arm was draped over her head, his hand playing with her blonde locks. He suddenly pulls away from her and out of the bed, quickly going over to the bag he had brought with him. That startles Diane and she turns to see what he was up to. For some reason it made her heart race. Had he realized this was a mistake? Maybe he had changed his mind and he wanted to leave. "Sam..? What are you doing?" She questions softly and furrows her brows as she watches him dig through the black bag. After a few minutes of searching, Sam pulls out a small black velvet jewelry box. "Found it" he states happily. Diane was still worried, her brows remaining in the same position. She couldn't see what he was holding, "found what dear?" She asks and waits for him to return to bed. Which Sam does, getting back under the white sheets. He was sitting up now and facing her. He then opens the box to the engagement ring that he had gotten for her. Well, not the nice one that she wanted. They were never able to find it that night she threw it out of his car. It was the one that wasn't as expensive but it was still beautiful and he loved it. "If we're making us work then I want it to be more than just a girlfriend-boyfriend thing. I want it to be the real thing" he explains.

Diane looks down at the ring, the ring she had grown to love after throwing out the expensive one. No, it wasn't as beautiful as the other nor as expensive but that didn't matter to her. She knew how much trouble Sam had gone through to get it that day. Besides, a ring was nothing. It was only a symbol of their affection for one another. She lets out a breath, "Sam.." she says before breaking into a smile. It was surprising that he wanted to be engaged. She thought maybe they'd go back to dating and only be engaged once she was back in Boston. He looks at her smile and can't help but do the same. Taking the ring out of the box, he takes her left hand and slides it right onto her finger. "There. Now everyone will know that you're taken by the most handsome man in Boston" he smiles, causing her to push at his chest again.

Diane looks down at the ring on her finger and smiles again before looking up at the man before her. Her heart was so full of love for him that it felt like it was going to burst. She brings her hand to the back of his head, fingers in his hair and pulls him into a kiss. It lasts for a few seconds before Diane pulls away and smiles more, "I love you Sam" she says. He was smiling as well, "I love you too Diane." Now laying back in the same cuddled position as before, Diane was still wearing the ring. Sam was mindlessly playing with her hair again. This brought her into a relaxed state. This causes her eyes to fall closed, along with being exhausted from their previous activities. She knew it was probably best not to sleep with the ring on but at the moment she didn't care. She never wanted to take it off. Diane lets her thoughts wander once more as she laid there with Sam. The only things she could think of were how much she loved him and how happy she was that she called him the previous night.


End file.
